To think I've ruined my carpet?!

[Stripey3000]

I've had a fairly thick carpet in my living room for about 2 years. Thanks to the usual mess from a child, and a murderous cat, it had some strains and was due for a good clean.
So at the weekend I hired a Rug Doctor machine and gave it a thorough going over. Unfortunately, with the weather being so cold and damp at the moment, the carpet hasn't dried out quickly enough, and we're now left with a moist carpet and a musty smell 😬
We've borrowed a dehumidifier from a neighbour and have a fan pointing directly at the dampest spots...which does seem to be drying it out, at last.
But can I get rid of the smell once it's dry?! Does anyone have any amazing tips?! I heard that things like Shake n Vac might not be safe to use, with cats in the house.
Please help!

Can you put the heating on?

Baking soda is great for smells, once dry. Maybe febreeze worth a try too

You could try the fabulousa carpet spray from b and m. That doesn’t bother my cats.
Or, use some shake and vac inside the Hoover bag, or use a Hoover disc freshener in either a bagged Hoover or in the bag less Hoover.

Carpet shampooers always seem to leave that foisty smell until everything dries It will disappear, just keep the rooms ventilated as well as you can.

Sorry, I realised I didn't actually answer your question.

Cover in Baking soda for 24 hours.
White Vinegar and lemon is also good for smells.

Unfortunately, with the weather being so cold and damp at the moment, the carpet hasn't dried out quickly enough, and we're now left with a moist carpet and a musty smell

Why didn't you just put the heating on? Do it now! A fan isn't what you need.

Heating and dehumidifier- that water has to go somewhere!

Wool always smells when wet. Just get the heating on and get it dried now.

Next time get it professionally cleaned. They'll do a better job, you'll have someone to gripe at if you're not happy and for one average room they'll probably be surprisingly competitive re hiring a machine

@eurochick

Wool always smells when wet. Just get the heating on and get it dried now.

There's a good chance its not wool though

a few weeks ago we shampooed (with our Vax machine) a huge turkish rug due to a doubly incontinent elderly dog. We used a dehumidifer -We could prop the rug up so air circulated underneath as well which i guess you cannot do with a carpet but it took a solid 9 days (dehumidifer on 24 hours and emptied regularly) for it to dry properly and the musty smell to go.

It did go though.

Put the heating up. You'll be surprised how much the smell will go once the carpet is actually dry. Flash with bicarb spray is pretty good at getting rid of any smells. The shake & vac is good but it'll ruin your Hoover!

On another note, the Vax Platinum SmartWash is fab. And has a dry only option on it to suck out the water .

Oh and yes to heating. if it is damp outside I would not open the windows - the dehumidifer needs to just work with the air in the room not the dampness outside as well (apparently according to DH).

Whack the heating on and open the windows and let it air a few days. The smell will go once its dry. If not sprinkle with baking powder then give it a really good vacuum. But make sure it is bone dry before you baking powder it.

@ForeverSausages

Put the heating up. You'll be surprised how much the smell will go once the carpet is actually dry. Flash with bicarb spray is pretty good at getting rid of any smells. The shake & vac is good but it'll ruin your Hoover!

On another note, the Vax Platinum SmartWash is fab. And has a dry only option on it to suck out the water .

Yep- this is what we use. It gets hard hard work (ref doubly incontient dog) and it is a godsend. Vax platinum, I mean.

@BlueLobelia same reason we got one by all accounts. Well worth the investment and so satisfying seeing the grim water in the tank after 😂😂.

We also bought our latest one online from Vax direct and it came with a free steam mop thrown in. That was several months back though, but they might still have a simialr offer. (never used the steam mop, but nice to know it is there languishing in the loft).

It does still come with a steam mop although haven't tried it yet (bought mine a couple weeks back) .

The smell will go.

Thank yoy for all the replies! Yes we had the heating up earlier so i will whack it on again now. All the doors and windows are closed so we are only dehumidifying the one room. You really are amazing at solving problems! 😍

You could try the fabulousa carpet spray from b and m

Great stuff, but will never cure smells, just serve to disguise them

Baking soda is extraordinary at removing smells.

Buy a couple of packets and shake it over the carpet.

Give it a couple of hours to dry and then hoover.
Magic.

Use a can of 1001 carpet fresh odour eliminator. It is a foam which disappears in 20 seconds.
I had the same and it got rid of the smell straight away, you may need to spray again later but it didn't come back.